Volvo Ocean Race- Statement from Hall Spars on Puma dismasting

Hall Spars have issued a media statement following the dismasting of the Volvo Ocean Race entry, Puma

The news yesterday that Puma's Mar Mostro lost her rig was devastating for all on the Puma team. Hall is working closely with the crew, the rig designer Scott Ferguson, and standing rigging supplier Southern Spars to get to the root cause of the dismasting. Collectively, we will take every measure to prevent its recurrence.

This is the same team of experts that produced the highly acclaimed rig for Telefonica in the last Volvo Race. Puma's mast was a careful evolution of that rig and has seen tens of thousands of miles of tough service, including a Transatlantic-winning effort earlier this year.

The spare mast was quickly prepared for shipping yesterday at Hall's Bristol, RI, factory. It will be picked up today and trucked to JFK Airport in NY in time to beat the Wednesday-Sunday Thanksgiving holiday ban on commercial trucking in the U.S. The mast is scheduled to reach Cape Town coincident with the arrival of the Puma team.

'We're doing everything in our power to get Puma back in the race as quickly as possible,' says Eric Hall, President of Hall Spars. 'We are in continual communication with the shore team, and we will have everything in place in Cape Town to ensure that the mast replacement goes as smoothly as possible. The resilience of the Puma team is extraordinary and our thoughts are with them as they make the difficult journey into port.'